Violet
by angeliccharizard
Summary: When Xellos convinces Filia to help him unlock a temple sealed with both Black and Holy magic barriers, they come across an object that neither of them had thought could possibly exist. (Eventually XelFi)
1. The Golden Children

Woo! My first fanfic in 3 years and it's a rewrite of one I started 10 years ago, haha.  
I don't consider myself a story writer, but I had fun writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it!

* * *

 **Golden Children**

Filia lovingly polished her merchandise near the back of her shop. Since she had established it a few years back, it had become modestly successful, popular with rich travelers and antique collectors. Gravos and Jillas were diligent workers, though lately Jillas had been spending more time inventing ever since Seyruun's gracious investment in his canon design. More and more kingdoms and rich noblemen wanted in on his inventions.

Val ran into the shop and picked up their cat under its forelegs. It meowed in protest, and Val giggled mischievously as the cat squirmed out of his grasp.

Filia waved graciously at her neighbor, who had Val over during the days to play with her son. Filia then looked down at Val, who was beaming at his mother. "Did you have a lovely day today, dear?"

Val nodded. "Me and Georgie played with his dog. I said I should bring over Clay, but he said that cats and dogs don't like eachoter." Val pouted. "But Clay hasn't even met his dog! How can they already not like eachother?"

Filia laughed. "It's an old maid's tale. Cats that aren't used to big things with lots of teeth don't tend to enjoy the new experience."

Val shuffled his feet. "Oh. Cuz Georgie said it was true. Like the gods and monsters, he said."

Filia's heart caught in her throat. Though his face and voice were much different, hearing Val talk about the conflict between gods and monsters brought back painful memories. She knelt down to her son's eye level. "That too. I'm sure it's… possible, that if a god and monster met, they might be able to set aside their differences."

"My, my. I know nothing about parenting, but I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to tell your children to _not_ befriend monsters."

Filia looked up to see Xellos grinning down at her. Her eyebrow twitched. "I'm simply telling my son to not judge a book by its cover. It's not my fault that you are simply as obnoxious and disrespectful as the stereotype for monsters go."

The corner of Xellos's mouth twitched. "Now Filia, you know that's not true. I am incredibly respectful for a monster."

Filia squinted, standing back up. "Oh, yes, because constantly invading my home and place of work even though I constantly toss you out is _incredibly_ respectful."

Xellos nodded. "It's called networking. How rude would it be if I had a favor to ask a hundred years from now and we hadn't spoken since the Darkstar incident?"

Filia clenched her teeth. "Just as rude as harassing me constantly for a hundred years and having the gall to ask a favor!"

Xellos was formulating a retort when he looked down to see Val clutching his pantleg and smiling. "Hi, Mister Xellos!"

Xellos laughed plainly. "Well, at least you've taught him to be polite."

Filia laughed nervously, trying to shepherd her son to her side. "Val, what have I told you about talking to strangers?"

Val blinked. "But Mister Xellos isn't a stranger; he comes over for tea all the time."

Filia scowled at Xellos. "I think you should leave." Noting his reluctance, she picked up Val. "Or, I could shower my son in praise and affection until you do."

Xellos scowled and vanished. Filia harrumphed in triumph and kissed her son on the cheek.

. . .

A few days later, Filia closed up her shop for the night and Val jumped on Gravos's back, climbing onto his shoulders. The four of them then walked to Filia's home.

Filia smiled at her employees. "Do you two want to stay for dinner?"

Gravos smiled. "Ah, no, I have some work I gotta do back home."

Jillas nodded. "Yeah, I got a big order to fill by tomorrow afternoon. See ya later, boss!"

Val pouted. "Bye Uncle Gravos! Bye Uncle Jillas!"

Filia hummed softly, preparing dinner over the stove. She glanced over to Val, who was drawing quietly at the table. She smiled. Val was growing up as well as she could have ever hoped. With Jillas and Gravos's eager help, raising Val hadn't been as much of an ordeal as she had initially feared it to be.

"Mama?"

Filia blinked out of her introspection. "Yes, dear?"

Val fiddled with his writing utensil. "Do I have a daddy?"

Filia decided suddenly that things were indeed about to go as she had feared. She smiled meekly. "Why do you ask?"

Val scrunched his face up in thought. "All my friends have daddies… I thought Uncle Gravos or Uncle Jillas was my daddy, but they said that uncles are different."

Filia began to sweat. Was he too young for the 'you're adopted' talk? And then there was the issue of avoiding the 'where do babies come from' question. She took a deep breath. "Well, Val... Mommy… hasn't gotten married yet."

Val visibly searched his limited 5-year-old internal glossary and made a grunt of understanding. "...Why not?"

Filia laughed softly. "I just haven't found the right man yet, I guess."

Val grinned. "I can help! I can find a lot of mans!"

Filia emitted more what sounded like a cough than a laugh. "No, no, dear. That's something mommy has to do for herself." Seeing her son's downcast expression, she amended her statement. "I would never pick a daddy you didn't approve of first, though."

Val wasn't completely familiar with the word 'approve' yet but he was satisfied anyways.

"Now dinner's nearly ready; help mommy set the table."

. . .

Filia cleared the table and began cleaning the dishes in the sink.

"Hello, Filia!"

The dish she had been holding fell with a crash, and she whirled around to scowl at her uninvited guest. "Xellos! What have I told you about using the door?!"

Xellos smiled. "I think I've shared my opinions on that as well! Your adhesion to the mundane persists nonetheless."

Filia huffed. "Obedience to societal and physical laws is not _mundane_ it's a reasonable expectation! Though what can I expect from a demon?"

Xellos's smile faltered for a moment. "Well, small talk aside, I actually have come for a favor."

Filia squinted. "I suppose that is preferable to your usual goal of simply irritating me. What do you need _me_ for?"

"Your magic, of course!"

Filia scowled. "And why in the world would I help you?"

Xellos pouted. "Aren't we friends?"

"You are very well aware that we are _not_."

Xellos sighed. "Well, how about bribery?" He pulled out an ornate vase. "This vase is a replica of an ancient civilization's technique for etching lost to history. I am trying to get into a temple that has been sealed from before said technique was lost."

Filia folded her arms. "That is… quite a nice vase…" She pouted. "And you're well aware that if you do anything devious even parallel to my helping you, you will have no chance of me ever helping you again?"

Xellos smiled and nodded. "Very aware!"

Filia grunted. "Fine. But if there's no pottery in there, you will need to compensate me appropriately."

Xellos sighed. "As stingy as ever." He then grabbed her around the waist, and before she could protest, they appeared in front of an ornate set of doors. Xellos approached the door and gestured to two inset handprints.

Filia squinted. "This doesn't look like it was built by my people…"

Xellos shook his head. "It's human built."

Filia gasped. "That's right! I did hear that humans used to have the power to use holy magic…" She touched the etching on the door. "This must be ancient… the seals on it has preserved it so well!"

Xellos placed his hand on the other door, and the seals shattered. The two of them descended into the temple, and Filia frowned as they observed a large, golden statue of a woman holding a staff topped with a large hemisphere. "That's peculiar… I don't recognize this figure."

Xellos laughed. "Of course you do! It's just not someone you'd usually expect to see humans worship."

Filia's eyes widened. "It's not-"

"The Lord of Nightmares."

Filia scowled. "So this is an ancient _cult_ , hmm?"

Xellos nodded. "They called themselves the 'Golden Children'."

Filia looked around the room a bit more to see a mural of Shabranigdo, and then, to her surprise, Ceifeed. "If they worship the mother of all monsters, why do they have a respectful depiction of Ciefeed?"

Xellos wandered around the room, looking at the runes lining the walls. "The Golden Children believed that the Lord of Nightmares was the mother of all creation, not just the monsters." He stopped at a mural depicting the lord of nightmares above a human, with a god and a monster touching hands underneath. "They also believed that humans were favored by her, being that they were the perfect balance between light and dark."

Filia narrowed her eyes. "Oh? And what's your goal here? To destroy any evidence that you aren't your 'mother's favorite?"

Xellos grinned laboriously. "It's just information. I thought you'd find it interesting since your 'son' was so keen on questioning the laws of life before we destroyed him."

Filia scowled. "Fine. Keep reading."

Xellos cleared his throat. "The Golden Children did not believe that the war of Gods and Monsters was destined to continue forever. They believed that humans could find peace by either: destruction, or, union."

Filia stared at the new mural that Xellos was reading from. It depicted a figure, holding what strongly resembled the Ragna Blade, and two figures—one with white energy emanating from its hands, and the other, black energy. The two energies met in the center and formed a golden orb.

Filia huffed sadly. "I suppose that's the optimism of humanity for you…"

Xellos then made his way to the center of the room. A marbled glass orb sat on a pedestal. "Would you look at this?" He placed a hand on it, and the floor emitted a black light. He smiled. "It seems to react to my power. Come see what happens if you touch it as well."

Filia reluctantly trotted over and placed her hand on the orb. The floor then flickered between black and white, and a faded gold color.

Xellos smiled. "This is definitely it!" He placed both hands on the orb. "I sensed something with a great magical capacity down here, and I think this is it. If we put more energy into it, I'm sure something wonderful will happen!"

Filia's nose scrunched up in doubt, but she then glanced at the murals lining the walls. "Well, I suppose these people were optimistic, if not insane… it can't hurt, can it?"

The monster and dragon channeled their power into the orb, until the room glowed gold. Suddenly, for an instant, Xellos and Filia found themselves in a void. Then, they were back in the room.

Suddenly, a golden sphere materialized inside the glass orb, and the orb shattered. Both Xellos and Filia shivered at the energy emanating from the golden sphere.

Filia tentatively reached for it. "What… is this?" When she made contact with the sphere, she recoiled.

Xellos cringed. "What?"

"It's… alive"

Xellos observed the sphere closely. "…So it is." He then paused. "It's a dragon."

Filia scowled. "It is not! The energy emanating from it is clearly mazoku in origin."

Xellos frowned. "Try again."

Filia focused on the energy emanating from the orb. "It's… both!"

Xellos smiled. "Well, with that cleared up-" He reached for it, and Filia grabbed his wrist.

"You think I'm going to let you take it?"

Xellos' smile faded. "I don't really think you have a choice."

Filia grimaced. "If you remember correctly, you either get this orb, or future cooperation from me. Not both." She huffed. "As you said, it's a living creature. And by our track records, I have the best chance of taking care of it."

Xellos's cold expression melted into a pout. "It could be incredibly dangerous."

"Well thank goodness I have a high level mazoku constantly around that's eager to protect his assets!"

Xellos sighed. "Fine. You get to keep it, but as long as you remember it's mine too."

Filia huffed. "Fine."

. . .

Filia walked to Val's room holding his old basket, now containing the golden orb. She gently kissed him on the head. "Good morning, my little gem."

Val yawned and stretched. He then looked over at the basket. "What's that?"

Filia stared at the golden orb. She did know that she wanted to take care of it, but she hadn't thought about how she would describe it to Val.

Val gasped. "Is it an egg?"

Filia blinked. "I do suppose it is."

Val cheered. "So I get a new baby brother or sister?"

Filia paused. "Well, Xellos and I aren't completely sure what is going to hatch from it…" Seeing Val's confused expression, she sighed. "Sure, we can call it that. Until it hatches- then we'll re-decide."

Val cheered. "I'll love it even if it's not a baby." He stared at, grinning. "Maybe it'll be a dog? ...a dragon dog!"

. . .

Filia walked home with Val after a long day of antique work. "So, did you have fun today?"

Val nodded. "We played knights and dragons. He slayed me, then I slayed him, and then we became friends. In pretend I mean. We're already friends."

Filia laughed nervously at the slaying bit, but was glad to hear they passed on to friendship.

The two dragons reached their home, and Val shuffled his feet, staring at the basket. "So, when will it hatch?"

Filia smiled softly. "You'll have to be patient. It will most likely take at least half a year."

Val pouted, but then nodded determinedly. "I can be pachent."

Xellos took then as a good opportunity to chime in. "He really _doesn't_ take after you, Filia! I have to say, great job on that one!"

Filia glared at Xellos, and was about to snap at him when Val ran up and hugged the monster's legs. "Mister Xellos!"

Xellos looked down at the child, confused. Filia's eye twitched. "You've visited enough to create an impression on my son, remember?" She clenched her teeth. "He thinks you're funny."

Xellos smirked. "Well, he does have a history of befriending monsters!"

Filia's irritated expression melted away and turned to fear and sorrow. She picked up her son and glared at Xellos. "You do not get to come inside today. Goodbye." She then stormed inside her home, and slammed the door shut.

Xellos pouted and muttered to himself. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

Xellos sat on Filia's porch and sighed, cradling his chin in his hands. He liked it better when she used to explode into her dragon form in fury, causing destruction all around her. It was much more entertaining, even if it was just as counterproductive.

Xellos turned around when he heard the front door open and prepared a smirk for the dragon he knew would step through, but it dissolved when he saw the wrong dragon smiling at him. "Hello, Val, what are you up to?"

Val held out a hand containing a biscuit. "I always want snacks when I'm in time-out."

Xellos's smile became strained. "Time-out?"

Val nodded. "Because you lied to mommy."

Xellos exhaled slowly. "Right. You 'haven't ever made friends with any monsters', have you, Val." Val nodded, still holding out the biscuit. Xellos shrugged and took the biscuit, appeasing the toddler.

Val pulled out his own biscuit and began nibbling on it. "...Do adults have mommies and daddies too?"

Xellos squinted at the question. "...Yes, most do."

"...do you have a daddy?"

Xellos choked on his biscuit. "No, no I don't think so."

Val nodded slowly. "So you only have a mommy, like me?"

Xellos looked off and frowned in thought. "...I guess you could say so, sure."

Val stared at his feet. "Did you ever feel sad that other kids had daddies and you didn't?"

Xellos sighed at the assault of irrelevant questions. "No, not really."

"Oh..."

Val was silent after that, and Xellos frowned. He wasn't sure what Val wanted to hear from him. It was his mistake, coming to a demon for emotional advice.

Val smiled, waved goodbye, and went back inside.


	2. Parenting Lessons

**Parenting Lessons**

"Oh, Filia, you're out of tea."

Filia turned to see Xellos rummaging through her cupboards. She huffed. "Well that's your fault- I set my shopping schedule to buy tea for Val, myself, and _guests._ " She continued counting her assets. "If you want tea, you'll have to go buy more yourself."

As Xellos went to leave, Filia piped up again. "Actually, while you're out, could you pick up something for dinner, too?"

Xellos smirked in frustration. "So I'm to do errands for you?"

Filia gave him a half-lidded glare. "You wish to keep in my good graces, don't you?" she said, one hand on the basket containing the powerful golden egg. "Then if you're going to consume my food, you'll do errands."

A few weeks had passed and Xellos had managed to get roped into more and more chores. Due to his association with 'the town dragons', his presence became noticed by the local townsfolk.

Filia came home after a day of manning her shop, and Xellos showed up with Val shortly after.

Filia raised her nose so she could look down as best she could at Xellos. "Good. I suppose I can trust you with him after all."

Xellos forced a smile. "Oh, yes. It was very hard to resist kidnapping this scaly toddler or neglecting the child of someone that has possession of something I have a great interest in. You're welcome."

Filia scowled and led Val to the table. "So, dear, how was your day?"

Val hopped onto the chair and frowned in thought. "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell me Xellos was my daddy?"

Both Xellos and Filia stared at the toddler with looks of shock. Filia tried her best to put on a calm expression. "Where in the world did you get that idea, darling?"

Val frowned. "That's what all the other kids said. They said that they heard he was the new baby's daddy and so he got to be my daddy too."

Filia inhaled slowly and she and Xellos exchanged glances. "Xellos… is not a _father._ " Filia managed to sputter.

Xellos wagged his finger in thought. "Though… we do have shared custody of it. And if it's sentient..." He cringed.

Filia clenched her teeth. "Xellos, I think you and I need to have a chat in private."

She dragged him into the next room. Xellos shook his head before she had a chance to speak. "I have no intention to be a 'father' to anything, figure or otherwise."

Filia put a finger in his face. "Whether you intend it or not, your presence affects my children. And there is _no way_ I can trust you to be a decent example."

Xellos frowned, opening an eye at Filia. "Are you trying to take the orb from me?"

Filia stared him down, a determined look on her face. She then looked away in frustrated thought. "I suppose if you could be a good influence, there would be no problem..."

Xellos smiled. "Well, then, we have our solution!"

"But I don't trust you to be a good influence."

Xellos sighed. "Well that puts us at an impasse, doesn't it?"

Filia nodded. "Unless."

"Unless?"

"You were _taught_ to be a good influence."

Xellos laughed. "I hardly think that you'd be qualified for that."

Filia swallowed her frustration and smiled. "But we know someone who certainly is."

Xellos's smile dissolved. "Please, not her."

. . .

"Lesson number one: Being a good role model! You need to make sure that everything you do reflects the same ideals you want your child to have: so standing up for justice in the everyday is a must!"

Xellos slid further into his chair from the onslaught of positive energy emanating from his raven-haired teacher. "Miss Amelia, don't you have important duties to attend to back home?"

Amelia flinched, but quickly recovered, pointing at Xellos. "That's a bad example of modeling! Unless you want your children to question their teachers?"

Xellos clenched his teeth. Hearing the phrase 'your children' was nearly as bad as every motivational speech Amelia had ever given. Mazoku didn't have children, they created underlings. And Xellos never had any intention of sacrificing the power necessary to make any of his own. He folded his arms. Maybe in that sense 'having children' was a good thing. If he considered them as a form of underling, that would mean he had two, without having to expend any power.

"Okay, scenario one: you're in the market with your child and someone accidentally knocks your groceries onto the ground. What do you do?"

"Vaporize them." Amelia gaped at Xellos, who placed a hand on his forehead. "It was a joke- you can't honestly think I would _vaporize_ someone for something as trivial as _that._ "

Filia looked in on Amelia's role model lessons to see Amelia frantically gesturing and Xellos looking completely uninterested. She sighed and poured more tea for her other guest. "Circumstances aside, it's nice to see you again, Mister Zelgadis."

Zelgadis shrugged. "It's nice to see you too, Filia." He took a sip of tea and squinted at her. "But I don't think I exactly understand the situation- _how_ do you have shared custody of a child with _him?_ "

Filia gripped her teapot and sighed. "A weird ritual in a strange temple." Zelgadis squinted in a way that made her rethink her answer. "I-it was sealed inside, I think. It appeared inside a strange glass ball."

Zelgadis nodded and resumed sipping his tea. "Still, I'm surprised you let him claim any right to the child."

Filia poured herself a cup and stared into it. "Well, it's easy to forget with his demeanor, but we both know very well I really don't have a choice..."

Zelgadis frowned, and grunted in agreement.

Filia, wanting to change the subject, smiled at her guest. "So, what brings you here with Amelia?"

Zelgadis shrugged. "As a princess she can't exactly travel alone, so she's hired me as her bodyguard again."

Filia smiled. "Well, how sweet."

Zelgadis scoffed. "For accepting a job?"

Filia chuckled quietly. "Of course." She wasn't referring to him, but she wasn't going to embarrass Amelia by pointing it out.

. . .

Xellos was absentmindedly watching Filia folding laundry when they heard a knock at the door. Filia opened it to see the local baker holding a basket. Filia blinked. "Oh! Good afternoon; can I help you?"

The baker smiled. "Oh, I just had some left over bread from this morning and would hate for it to go to waste. I thought you, your son, and your…" He glanced at Xellos and trailed off.

Filia scowled at Xellos, and then smiled pleasantly at the baker. "Unwanted guest."

Xellos noticed the baker subtly sigh with relief. "Well, I thought the three of you might like it. To have the bread I mean."

Filia smiled and accepted the basket. "Why, thank you! That's so sweet…"

"Ford! I'm Ford. And you're ...Filia, right?" Filia nodded. The baker laughed softly. "Good! I couldn't just keep calling you 'that beautiful dragon woman' to your face, now could I?"

Filia blushed slightly and laughed with him. "You're too sweet!"

The baker stepped away from the doorway. "I suppose I'll see you around, then?"

Filia smiled. "I suppose you will."

The baker left and Filia closed the door. She set the breadbasket in the kitchen and gazed at it dreamily.

Xellos hummed in thought. "So bread and flattery is how you win a dragon's affections?"

Filia scowled at Xellos. "Basic decency with added kindness, yes. It also helps that he hasn't murdered thousands of my kind if you wish to compare."

Xellos scoffed. "Hardly. Unlike him, I have no fetish for extraspecies relations."

Filia shrieked at the comment and swung at Xellos, only to miss as expected. Though, despite her frustration at Xellos, she couldn't help but still feel a little giddy about the possibilities for her and the baker, Ford.

. . .

"Lesson 3: try to have fun and spend time with your child!"

Xellos shrugged. "That sounds easy enough."

Amelia smiled. "I knew you'd get into it!" She placed her hands on her hips. "So, your assignment this week is to spend an hour with Val."

Xellos squinted. "I have homework now?"

Amelia nodded. "You said it would be easy, so prove to yourself it is!"

Xellos sniffed. "Right."

"Xellos?"

Xellos appeared before Filia, which to his disappointment, did not startle her. "Yes?"

Filia sat down the vase she was holding on its proper shelf. "I'm going to need you to watch Val and the egg tonight once I close up- do you think you can manage that?"

Xellos sneered at her word usage. "'Manage'?"

Filia's eyelids lowered. "Yes. Can you?"

Xellos scoffed. "Of course I can!"

Xellos walked Val home from the neighbor's house, watching as the little dragon skipped ahead, kicking pebbles as they walked along. Xellos them remembered Amelia's silly assignment. "So, Val. What do you do for fun?"

Val stopped kicking to think. "Well, pretend, mostly. But I like to draw, too."

Xellos laughed. "Well, I'm certainly good at 'playing pretend'."

Val smiled. "Really?"

Xellos nodded. "I'm pretending to be human right now, even!" He smiled. "You are too."

Val seemed to be confused and then looked at his own hands. "Oh yeah I guess so."

The two of them reached Filia's home, and the two of them sat at the dining room table. Xellos set the basket with the egg down on the table and smiled at Val. "So, Val, do you want to play a game?"

Val smiled. "Yeah!"

"What do you want to play?"

Val stood up on his chair. "Let's play house!"

Xellos blinked. "'House?'"

Val nodded. "Yeah! I'll be the dad, and you and the egg will be the kids."

Xellos leaned on the table. "Oh… I suppose I'll take your lead, then."

Val ran out of the room and grabbed his cloak, only to walk into the room and set it down on a chair. "Work was hard today!" He declared, sitting down at the table. "Did you have fun playing?"

Xellos smirked. "Oh, a bunch of fun, sure."

Val nodded. "That's good!" He then blew kisses to Xellos and the egg. "I love you very much!"

Xellos cleared his throat. "Right." He glanced at the kitchen. "What's for dinner, 'dad'?"

Val thought for a moment, then smiled. "Bread, cheese, and tea!"

Xellos nodded as Val went into the kitchen to grab the ingredients. He was glad Val didn't want anything more complex for dinner, as the only recipes Xellos knew were not exactly for food. "Can I help with the tea?"

Val nodded and stretched to pat Xellos on the back. "What a good boy!"

Xellos laughed. From an objective standpoint, he was taking orders from a toddler- but there wasn't anyone watching, and Val at least seemed to be having a good time. "What a good father!"

Val cocked his head. "Really?"

Xellos shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

Val grabbed a loaf of bread. "Me neither."

Filia returned home with a skip in her step. She had just spent the loveliest time out with Ford. He was incredibly kind, genuinely interested in her day and how Val was doing.

Filia opened the door to her home to see Xellos reading in the living room with Val asleep in a chair. Filia scowled, and whispered, "You were supposed to put him to bed!"

Xellos shrugged. "He refused, so I played politics with him." Filia squinted questioningly. "He was the ruler, and I simply listed the territories under him and their exports until he fell asleep. He dozed off precisely before the time you specified."

Filia picked up her sleeping son, scowling. "Put him in his bed next time, will you?"

Filia returned from Val's room, and her eyebrows raised. "So, what did he do while I was gone?"

Xellos lay a finger on his cheek in thought. "Well, we played house, mostly."

Filia blinked. "You played with him the whole time?!"

Xellos nodded, nearly as surprised as she was. "It was a rather enlightening experience." He smirked. "Who knew how much you can learn about a parent by the behavior of their children!"

As Xellos hoped, this made Filia incredibly self-conscious. "Like what?!"

. . .

"Lesson 5, be a good listener!"

Xellos smirked. "Well that's certainly an easy one!"

Amelia pointed at the smug demon. "Being a good listener doesn't just mean listening for information, it means listening for feelings, and communicating that you understand!"

Xellos left Filia's living room having sat through a particularly long lecture on communication and understanding. It was incredibly boring and most likely useless, but it was worth it if it kept all his assets in order. Also, he could probably use it to annoy Filia from a new angle.

Filia noticed Xellos and paused knitting for a moment. "Oh, Xellos! The lesson's over, then?"

Xellos nodded, sighing. "Finally, yes."

"Well then, do you think you'll be able to watch Val again for me?"

Xellos leaned towards Filia to what he deemed an appropriately irritating distance. "Oh, having a night out with the baker again, are you?"

Filia pouted at his condescending tone. "Yes. I enjoy his company, I'll have you know."

Xellos huffed. "How dull. I suppose I can."

Filia smiled. "Thank you. And I'll prepare dinner beforehand this time- Amelia has informed me of your… 'cooking' skills."

Xellos laughed resignedly. "That's probably for the best..."

Filia sat on a blanket by the pond with Ford, talking and laughing with him.

"So," Ford started, hesitating. "That egg you have… where did it..." He paused again. "Does it… have a father?"

Filia nodded in understanding at his hesitance, laughing uncomfortably. "Oh, no- I mean, I don't think so- Xellos and I found it in an old human shrine."

Ford's expression clouded over slightly when she mentioned the shrine, she had delved into a subject that he didn't have any experience in. Filia wrung her hands, scrambling to bring the conversation back to something he might know. "Y-yes it was a shrine made by a cult that called themselves 'The Golden Children'," She flinched, sure she had simply brought the subject further into unrelatablility.

Ford nodded slowly, a pitying smile on his face. "That… sounds relatively familiar?"

Filia sighed. "Ah, it had… quite interesting architecture! Though of course Xellos didn't appreciate any of it; he was too busy looking for a weapon or something, probably..."

"Oh, architecture… I uh, have you been to Seyruun City? I've heard they have some great architecture there!"

Filia held her face in her hands, describing the rest of the night to the only one in her home still awake. "And I just kept rambling on and on, and he looked so bored!"

Xellos laughed. "Well, you are quite boring!"

Filia pouted at Xellos, cheeks red and eyes watery from shame and frustration.

Xellos let out a short sigh. "But, anything an interesting person says is interesting- so if he has already lost interest, I don't think he's worth your effort anyways."

Filia lay her head down in her folded arms and sighed.

Xellos waited a bit longer, but still got no response. "I think you're interesting."

Filia squinted at him. "You said I was boring."

Xellos nodded. "You are. But _I_ think you're interesting."

Filia sat up a bit straighter, her sadness melting into suspicion and intrigue. "Oh?"

"Yes! You're obnoxiously naive like the rest of your species, but your defection was something I didn't expect," Xellos folded his arms. "And I still don't understand why you think you can continue to insult me when I am so much more powerful than you that it isn't even funny. I can't decide whether you're brave, or stubborn, or perhaps just stupid."

Filia stuck up her nose. "I'm just a good judge of character. As long as Miss Lina is useful to you, there's no way you could get away with getting rid of me."

Xellos's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, really? _No_ way?"

Filia nodded condescendingly. "No way."

Xellos set aside his annoyance and smirked. He had successfully pulled Filia out of her mopey state. Who needed empathy? He had acute observational skills and professional manipulation abilities. Everything was going to work out just fine.


	3. Lesson 10

**Lesson 10**

"Lesson 10, make sure your child knows that you love them!"

Xellos squinted at Amelia. "Correction: make sure they _think_ I love them."

Amelia gave Xellos a dismayed look. "Mister Xellos! The most important thing about having children is loving them!"

Xellos laughed. "Well, I suppose that's why demons don't have children!"

Amelia frowned. "But you do!"

Xellos leaned into his hand and frowned exasperatedly. "Fine, then. How do I do it?"

Amelia blinked. "Do what?"

Xellos shrugged, smiling at the ridiculousness of it all. "Love… something?"

Amelia stared at him for a while before running to grab some scrolls and books. Xellos laughed. "For someone who talks about love and justice all the time, you have to look it up?"

Amelia pouted. "It's something you just… feel and know! It's like… trying to explain how to remember to blink and breathe!" Xellos stared at her blankly with his constant grin. "Right, you don't really have to do that either..."

Amelia continued to search through her documents until she found something that satisfied her. "Aha! Love is a feeling and an action. It is the desire to do anything for someone, to ensure that they are happy and safe."

Xellos huffed cheekily. "Without anything in return?" Amelia scowled at him and he nodded concedingly. "At the very least I can go through the actions."

Amelia smiled triumphantly. "One more step towards becoming a human!"

Xellos nearly fell out of his chair. "Amelia..."

Filia made her way around her dining room, dusting as she went.

"You missed a spot!"

Filia glared at Xellos, who was pointing to the top of the china hutch.

"Can't you get it?" Filia glowered at him. "You're supposed to be magically powerful, right? Shouldn't you be able to clean this whole room at once or something?"

Xellos laughed. "I'm not some kind of fairy."

Filia grabbed a stool and slammed it next to the hutch. She was not in the mood for comments about dragons living in squalor. She stepped atop the stool and began dusting violently, only to knock herself off balance. She braced herself for the short fall and following laughter, only to fall an even shorter distance, into Xellos's arms.

Filia gawked up at Xellos's smug expression. "I knew you were clumsy, but this is ridiculous!" He set her feet first back on the ground.

Filia would have pouted angrily at him, but she was still a little shocked. "Why did you catch me? And not drop me?"

Xellos held his arms behind his back and smiled in the way he always had. "Just practicing."

Filia squinted. "Practicing what?"

Xellos's demeanor became less pleasant. "One of Amelia's silly lessons."

Filia's scrutinizing look softened. "So you are listening to them?"

Xellos scowled. "Well you made it very clear that if I want to not kill you _and_ have contact with the egg, I had to."

Filia stared at Xellos with a blank expression. "Why haven't you taken the egg away from me? Or threatened me to get me to concede with however you want to run things?"

Xellos returned the blank expression. He suddenly was reminded by the lesson he had claimed to be practicing. He then internally shook away the thought. He did want to keep her alive, that was for certain; but he didn't want her to be happy, necessarily. He wanted to keep their relationship exactly as it was. Enough fear to keep power, but not so much to keep from seeing her constant outbursts. He smiled. After spending so much time with her, he started noticing how truly entertaining she was. Her spunk was more amusing than irritating- he even started to be impressed at her jabs at him. They were certainly getting more and more creative. He enjoyed his time with her.

Xellos paused, internalizing his realization. He also glanced up at the very confused dragon who was still waiting for his response. Having passed the limit for thought on his response, he went with his usual, classic response. "That, is a secret!" And vanished immediately.

After her strange encounter with Xellos earlier, Filia decided to visit Amelia to see if whatever she had taught him could have influenced his strange behavior.

"So, Miss Amelia," Filia began, pouring herself a cup of tea. "What was this week's lesson about?"

Amelia smiled. "Love."

Filia nearly dropped her cup. "What?"

Amelia nodded. "He said he didn't think he could love anything, but he said he was willing to try. For your kids."

Filia jumped out of her chair, tail straight upward, and she shrieked in horror. "He _loves me?_!"

Amelia gasped excitedly. "You really think so?!"

Filia quickly shook her head, feeling sick, and sat down. She laughed nervously. "No… that's impossible right? It's just… we argue so much, I'd assume he'd kill me the instant I got in the way of something he wanted, but here we are, with him taking lessons from you instead of removing me..."

Amelia smiled, putting her chin in her hands. "Well, Mister Xellos is the least demon-ey mazoku I've ever met. But, at the same time, Mister Gourry and Miss Lina argue _all_ the time. Also, who knows? Maybe to mazoku, arguing is the same as flirting?"

Filia choked on her tea. " _I should hope not!_ "

Amelia continued thinking. "What really is that egg, anyways?"

Filia rested her chin in her hands. "Some sort of fusion creature I suppose?" She then remembered the night they found it. _The Golden Children did not believe that the war of Gods and Monsters was destined to continue forever. They believed that humans could find peace by either: destruction, or,_ _ **union**_ _._ A chill ran down Filia's spine. "I think he and I need to talk..."

Filia returned to her home to hear Xellos shouting from the other room. "Oh, Filia! You're here! Come quick!"

Filia rushed into the room to see Xellos leaning over the basket holding the golden egg. "Something's happening!"

The sick feeling Filia had in her stomach from her conversation with Amelia grew stronger, but it was joined with hope. She really hoped this egg would hatch into something and not turn out to be some sort of weapon that was suddenly activated. She watched nervously as it glowed and cracked, until finally the orb split open.

A little black creature lay curled up in the basket. It was shaped like a baby dragon, but it had no arms or legs, nor did it have a definite anatomical shape to any of its features.

Xellos nodded at it. "Well, it seems like it was really an egg after all."

" _She_."

Xellos squinted at Filia. "You can tell?"

Filia nodded. "Dragons have an innate sense; since it's so hard to tell dragons apart externally and all."

Xellos hardly hid his enthusiasm at the easy remark. "You can say that again!"

Filia scowled. " _Anyways_ , we need to name her."

Xellos placed a finger on his chin. "What about Sellis?"

Filia pointed at him accusingly. "Your master had _horrible_ naming sense, we will not continue the pattern."

Xellos folded his arms. "...Zelas, Xellos, Sellis- I hear it now!"

Filia hummed in thought. "What about Jade?"

Xellos scoffed. "She's pitch black. Jet would be more fitting."

"Jet is a boy's name!"

"Prejudiced as always."

As they argued, the little creature squirmed, silencing them. The creature then opened her mouth for a quiet yawn, and blinked at her observers, revealing her bright violet eyes.

Filia gazed softly at her child. "What about Violet?"

Xellos shrugged. "It's painfully straightforward, but I suppose it works."

Filia smiled and gently stroked her child's back. "It'll be a while before she can assume a human form; so we'll have to keep her indoors for a few months."

Xellos frowned. "Nonsense, she's emanating strong mazoku energies. She should be able to assume a human form almost immediately!"

Filia flinched as Xellos gently placed his hand over Violet. Violet glowed a bit, and then shifted into what looked like a several months old baby. She had pointed ears like a dragon, and golden hair. Filia stared at her, dumbfounded.

Xellos smirked. "Demons are born fully grown. I'd assume she's going to age quite a bit differently from any dragon."

Filia swaddled and picked up Violet, smiling at her child cautiously. She then stared at her in shock. "Xellos."

"What?"

Filia stared at Xellos intensely. "She has your eyes."

Xellos raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure what you're projecting onto her, but..."

Amelia nodded, smiling. "She looks just like you, Mister Xellos." Zelgadis nodded in agreement, looking back and forth between the two monsters with disdain.

Xellos frowned, looking at Violet. "Well that must be because I helped her into her physical form."

Filia shook her head. "Dragon's can't change their human forms willy nilly like mazoku can!"

Xellos leaned forward. "And she's half mazoku."

Zelgadis squinted. "Didn't you two say you found her in an orb that you both used magic on?"

Filia nodded, brow furrowed.

Amelia nodded. "She looks like you too, miss Filia."

Filia and Xellos narrowed their eyes at Amelia. Filia's voice had a low grumble to it. " _Miss Amelia…_ _what are you implying?_ "

Amelia placed her finger on her chin in thought. "Well, we know that fusion magic can create things..."

Xellos yelped, finally coming to a realization. He smiled meekly at Filia. "Remember when we thought that we broke a seal and freed Violet from that sphere?"

Filia looked at Xellos in horror. "Th-thought?"

Xellos nodded. "The glass sphere may not have been a container, but a vessel..."

Amelia caught on and said what the nonhumans in the room were unwilling to say. "You two made a baby!"

Filia passed out, landing to the floor with a thud.

Amelia scowled at Xellos. "Mister Xellos! You didn't catch her. That wasn't very loving of you."

Xellos's eyebrow twitched. "Maybe that's because I _don't_ love her!"

Amelia pouted. "Parents can't _not_ love eachother! Do you know what that does to a child?!"

Xellos let out a single laugh. "No matter your reasoning, there is no way I could love her, much less _anything._ "

Amelia pointed at Xellos. "Wrong! You love miss Lina"

Xellos squinted at Amelia, completely dumbfounded by her outlandish statement. "Pardon?"

Amelia nodded, sure in herself. "Love isn't simply an element of romance- it took me a while to realize it, but you made it blatantly obvious during our battle with Shabranigdo- you always keep miss Lina out of harm's way!"

Xellos scoffed. "Well, I can't cast the Giga Slave." He then folded his arms, quietly adding, "And that _wasn't_ Lord Shabranigdo, remember?"

Amelia huffed, her energy not faltering. "Even when you fought to take her into custody that one time, you didn't lay a finger on her!"

Xellos blinked, and then smirked. "You do forget that I offer her life in exchange for things? Often?"

Amelia laughed to herself like he had walked directly into her trap. "Oh, yes, miss Filia told us how you offered miss Lina's life to Val that one time."

Zelgadis, resting his hand on his chin nodded. "Oh, right. You offered to kill Lina, not to give her over to Val so he could exact his revenge." He then grimaced, Amelia's peculiar theory sounding more probable.

Amelia pointed at Xellos excitedly. "Also! Also! The only time I ever have seen you look sad!"

Xellos backed away from her enthusiasm. "Sad?!"

Amelia nodded. "When you told us that the Lord of Nightmares had consumed Lina! I remember because you've never ever looked sad before or after!"

Xellos's eye twitched, becoming impatient. "And what does however you _think_ I might feel about miss Lina influence how I feel about Filia?!"

Amelia leaned towards Zelgadis. "Mister Zelgadis, how often does mister Xellos tease us?"

Zelgadis shrugged. "About as much as anyone else."

"And how much does he tease miss Lina?"

"Huh. A lot, relatively"

"And what about miss Filia?"

The answer was obvious. Xellos placed a hand on his hip. "You can't possibly make a conclusion based on that! That's a step further than even circumstantial evidence!"

Amelia wagged her finger condescendingly at Xellos. "You have to look at this _scientifically_ mister Xellos! Think of our sample size! Phibrizzo, Gaav, Saygram… the list goes on! We have lots of data on mazoku behavior towards non mazoku, and your behavior is most certainly an outlier!"

Xellos folded his arms in frustration. "Obviously there is no way I can dissuade you from this misguided line of thinking." He then vanished.

Amelia folded her arms and nodded. "Well then, I have a new mission."

Zelgadis looked at Amelia. "What is it?"

"To make Violet's parents love each other!"

Zelgadis nearly fell out of his chair. "Amelia… I think that's an impossible mission..."


	4. Fiction

**Fiction**

Filia entered her room and gently lay Violet down in the crib she had prepared months before. Rocking the crib gently, she gazed warily down at her child. She was very likely _her_ child. She wasn't exactly sure how, but she was. She tried focusing on that rather than the fact that she was also possibly Xellos's.

Unfortunately, this also lead her mind to the fact that she was now a single mother of _two_ now. She slumped over. Not to mention the only man that had any interest in her lost interest almost immediately.

Not Xellos, though.

A shiver went down Filia's spine. Xellos did say he had an interest in her. Or, to word it in a less sickening way, found her interesting. She was going to ignore the incident this morning due to her un-assisted fainting spell this afternoon. She sighed. For completely lacking empathy or compassion, he did do a very good job of pretending he didn't. She couldn't believe that earlier that day she had thought he was in love with her.

"Do you really think that's going to help Violet sleep?"

Filia jumped- Xellos had appeared next to her without her noticing once again. "Y-yes! It worked on Val all the time."

Xellos frowned. "Are you sure she even _needs_ to sleep?"

Filia blinked. "I didn't even think of that..."

Before Filia could stop it, she found herself yawning.

Xellos nonviolently shoved Filia aside. "Well, I can take it from here."

Filia pouted. "You can't..." She yawned again. "You… don't need to sleep… maybe you can watch her for me?"

Xellos smirked. "Yes, maybe."

Filia climbed into her bed and shut her eyes.

Filia awoke to the sound of Violet crying, and sat up groggily. Out her window, the sun peeked barely past the horizon. She looked over to the crib to see Xellos trying to placate Violet by waving Val's old toys at her. Filia scowled tiredly. "What did you do."

Xellos frowned at Filia. "She just woke up. It seems she only needs about three hours of sleep- but she won't stop crying."

Filia sighed deeply and picked up her daughter. "You need to _hold_ her, you stupid monster."

Violet began to calm down, and Filia passed her to Xellos before laying back down in bed.

Xellos stood motionless holding Violet. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He frowned. "Things would be so much easier if you just _told_ me what you wanted."

Filia awoke once more, this time to the sun streaming across her face. She sat up and saw Xellos sitting next to the crib, one hand over the rail, Violet's little hands gripped tightly on his fingers.

Xellos's bored expression shifted to his regular cheerful one when Filia awoke, and he lifted Violet out of her crib, and handed her to her mother. "Thank goodness you're up! I have work I need to get done."

Filia blinked. "Actually, about that..." Xellos frowned. "I was thinking… we should really do more research on that temple."

Xellos looked back and forth between Violet and Filia. "I suppose we should." He then continued out of Filia's bedroom. " _After_ work. I am Greater Beast Zelas' sole general after all; I may not look it, but I do have a significant workload. 8 hours of babysitting has thrown off my schedule quite a bit."

Filia frowned and nodded. "After work it is, then."

Unfortunately, work was a near nightmare. Business went well for Filia, but having Violet in the shop turned out to attract the worst attention. Everyone kept commenting on how much the baby looked like Filia, unlike Val; and anyone who had ever caught a glimpse of Xellos's eyes remembered them well, to Filia's chagrin, and commented on that as well.

Filia sighed. Ford had even come in; he had looked apologetic until he had seen Violet. He had left immediately after that. Filia slumped in her chair and lay her chin on her hand. She didn't blame Ford, she did say that Violet wasn't her or Xellos's child, and based on her appearance… well it certainly didn't seem that way.

"Mama?"

Filia looked down at Val. "Yes, dear?"

Val frowned. "Are you sad?"

Filia smiled and picked up her son, smothering him in a hug. "Only when I don't see your smiling face!"

Val giggled. "I'm smiling now! I'm smiling!"

Filia released Val from the hug and set him on her lap. "Okay, so when Xellos gets here, we're all going shopping."

Val smiled. "Okay!"

Xellos and Filia walk through town toward the bookstore, Filia holding Violet in one arm, Val's hand in the other. Xellos frowned. "Do you really think we'll be able to find something of use here?"

Filia shrugged. "It's a start." She looked at the road ahead. "Like I said earlier, our town lays along a well-traveled road, so the store has an eclectic variety of books from travelers that pass through here."

The bell above the door rung as they stepped into the shop. The shopkeep smiled. "Good afternoon! How may I help you?"

Filia cocked her head. "Do you have anything about mazoku and shinzoku or ryuzoku? Possibly historical?"

The shopkeep's mouth tightened. "Can you be a little more specific?"

Xellos nodded. "How about anything that isn't specifically about them being at war?"

The shopkeep's expression turned to one of discomfort. "Oh… I think I have something… one sec."

Xellos raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's a surprise."

Filia smiled. "I can't imagine anything that fits that description that couldn't be at least a tiny bit useful."

The shopkeep set five books down on the counter. "These are the only books I've seen about ryuzoku and mazoku that aren't about them in conflict." She then glanced at the children. "I'd keep them out of little hands, though, if I were you."

Filia frowned in confusion, but then smiled. "We'll take them!" She then looked at Xellos expectantly.

Xellos blinked at her. "What?"

"It's your fault we need these books."

Xellos flinched, and then pulled out a coinpurse. "...I suppose I can't exactly argue with that."

When they got back, Val ran up to his room and Filia set Violet in a basket. "Well, let's get to researching I suppose."

Xellos squinted at the spines of the books. "They all seem to be by the same author."

Filia smiled. "Well, perhaps the author's a specialist on the subject?" She grabbed one of the books and began skimming.

Xellos picked up a book as well, but looked up suddenly as he heard Filia slam the book. "What's wrong?"

Filia's face was scarlet. "It's fiction."

Xellos frowned. "I don't see what you need to get so worked up about! It's my money that was wasted."

Filia shook her head. "No, it's _trashy_ fiction."

Xellos squinted at her, and continued reading. "I still don't understand why you- oh."

Filia buried her face in her hands. "We just bought a collection of trashy mazoku/ryuzoku _romance novels_." She then slammed the table. "Who would even read this!? Who would _write_ this?!"

"Melodia Franc"

Filia scowled. "I know her _name_ , I am questioning her _CHARACTER._ "

Xellos continued skimming through the book he had.

Filia's cheeks burned red again. "Stop reading that!"

Xellos sighed. "You want to know why someone would write something like this? Read it, it might give you some clues." He smiled. "Like here!"

Filia looked at the page and gasped in shock and anger. Xellos looked down at where he had pointed and cringed. "Oh, no I mean _here._ "

He moved his finger and Filia read the passage.

 _Now unsealed, the two lovers descended into the temple to be faced with a large room with a glass orb at its center._

 _Brunedpas placed a hand on the orb. 'And with this, we may confirm our love before the Golden Lord.'_

 _Ephram placed his hand on the orb as well, and the room shone a bright gold._

Filia's eyes widened. "This… isn't a coincidence, is it?"

Xellos smiled. "If it is, it's enough of a coincidence to be worth investigating."

Filia blinked. "So we just need to find the author, then?"

Xellos nodded. "Leave that to me." And he vanished.

. . .

"So, how are things going with Violet?"

Filia glanced over at Amelia and Zelgadis and smiled as she continued cooking dinner. "Quite well, actually. When Val was that age he kept me up all night; but having Xellos around, as much as I hate to say it, has been a huge help- being that he doesn't need to sleep and all."

Amelia leaned on the table, her face cradled in her hands. "He's helpful, huh?"

Filia sighed at her tone. "As much as he can be. The first night he didn't even pick Violet up to try and calm her."

Zelgadis scoffed. "Well, you can't expect him to have any sort of nurturing instincts."

Amelia nodded. "He never had a father, and his mother probably hasn't ever been a mother to him."

Filia squinted. "Why are you two coming up with excuses for him?"

"I'm not, I'm saying he literally shouldn't be in charge of children."

"Because! I'm sure with experience he'll become a great father!"

Amelia gave Zelgadis a disappointed pout at their conflicting answers.

Zelgadis then noticed the pile of books on the corner of the table. "What are these?"

Filia shrugged. "Just some books Xellos and I picked up for research."

"...Please tell me I'll like the answer to, 'what kind of research?'"

Filia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We were just trying to find out about the temple we found Violet in- YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO _READ_ THE BOOK!"

. . .

Xellos sat with Violet on his knee as Amelia relentlessly coached him on 'love languages'. He sighed. "We've been stuck on the topic of 'love' for what feels like _weeks_ now. Aren't you supposed to be teaching me more things?"

Amelia pouted, her fists on her hips. "Love is the most complicated and the most important lesson!" She then pointed to the poster she made. "Now, out of these, what do you think Filia's love language is?"

Xellos gave an exaggerated shrug and turned to Violet. "What do you think?"

Violet blinked at him. "Mama."

Amelia squealed with joy. "Violet just said her first word!"

Xellos huffed. "It's about time!" He smiled. "Anything else to say, Violet?"

Violet grabbed at Xellos's hair. "Mama."

Amelia then gasped. "She doesn't know what to call you!"

Xellos squinted. "Of course she does! Filia certainly yells at me enough around her."

Amelia sighed. "There's no way a _baby_ can say 'Xellos'!" She then leaned toward Violet. "He's 'Dada', Violet! Say 'Dada'!"

Xellos glowered, moving Violet away from Amelia. "Please, _don't_."

Amelia frowned. "'Papa', then?"

Xellos laughed uncomfortably. "No, none of that! I'm not her ' _father'._ "

Amelia pouted. "Yes you are! You can't 'claim' her without being her father, that's… weird!"

Xellos scoffed. "Lord Greater Beast is not my 'mother' and yet she has claim over me! Violet is my _subordinate_."

Amelia looked at Violet, frowning. "Don't you worry, Violet, I'm gonna help your 'dada' be a better parent than your grandma ever was!"

Xellos shuddered at the very thought of anyone calling Lord Greater Beast 'grandma' to her face.

. . .

Xellos appeared to Filia while she was pricing a vase she had purchased from a traveler a few moments before. She gave him a half-lidded glance. "Did you find the author?"

Xellos frowned. "Are you implying that's the only reason I should be visiting you at work? What if I had just come to visit Violet?" He wiggled a finger at the infant, which he had discovered earlier was quite entertaining for both him and the baby.

Filia raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed. "Yes, I found the author. Do you want to visit her now?"

Filia blinked, and then glanced over at Gravos. "Do you think you can take over the shop for a bit? A few hours at most?"

Gravos grinned. "Sure, boss."

Filia nodded. "Alright, then." She picked up Violet, and Xellos teleported them all to the front of a small house.

The house seemed cute and friendly- or it would have, presumably years ago before the weeds started growing and the paint peeling. Xellos knocked on the door. A bit of shuffling could be heard from within the house, and then the door opened an inch.

"I wasn't expecting any guests…"

The voice was tired, but higher pitched and young sounding. Xellos put on his best 'good guy' face. "Is this the home of Melodia Franc?"

There was a pause. "Who's asking?"

Xellos laughed casually. "Just some people who want to discuss your books- an excerpt from _Nightmarish Passions_ , specifically."

Another pause, and the door opened fully. Before them stood a young woman with thick glasses and short messy hair. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and wore a sleeping robe though it was mid afternoon. She scratched her hair and avoided their gazes. "That one was my first, actually. Come on in, I'll make coffee."

They waded their way through piles of books and papers until they found a table, which they sat at while Melodia busied herself with making the coffee. "I actually haven't thought about that book for a while now; most people talk about _The Demon's Rose_ or _Of Broods and Bloodshed_ \- those ones are much more popular."

Filia cleared her throat. "W-well, we're mostly interested in the part… near the end with the temple?"

Melodia laughed. "Right! I forgot, they got married in that one, huh?" She then looked at Filia and paused. "Wait, miss, you wouldn't happen to be... a golden dragon?"

Filia blinked. "Oh, uh, y-yes, I am..."

Melodia's eyes glittered. "Wow! I've never actually met a golden dragon before! Oh, there's so little I can find about your peoples' culture. I try so hard, though, have I done okay?"

Filia flinched. "O-oh, umm…" She laughed nervously. "A-actually, he's read more of your books than I have..."

Xellos cleared his throat. "So, about that part? About the temple?"

Melodia paused. "Oh, oh, right." She returned to the coffee. "Yeah, so, actually, I got the idea from another book by some of my ancestors- or, I guess all the books were inspired from it in a way..."

Filia lit up. "There's a book on it?"

Xellos leaned on his hands. "I was only able to find small snippets of information about the temple of the Golden Children- you found a whole book?"

Melodia gestured excitedly. "Yeah! My ancestors were Golden Children! My grandma showed the book to me when I was a kid. She got it from her grandmother, and her grandfather before that, and, well, you know, on and on." The young author sighed, and gave her two guests the prepared coffee. "The Golden Children believed that a dragon and a monster could come together and bring an end to the fighting between them. It's kind of silly, but as a kid it felt just like all the other fairy tales; and so now, I write them like how I heard them back then!"

Filia choked on her coffee.

"Well, I mean, with a bit of extra... flourish… but, you know." The author took a sip of her coffee. "So, I have to ask, how does a golden dragon end up with a man who reads monster/dragon erotica?"

Xellos laughed loudly in irritation. "It was for _research._ We actually have visited that temple and simply were looking for more information on it."

Melodia blushed. "O-oh, so you guys are like, archaeologists or something?" She tightened her robe and brushed off her clothes. "You, uh, probably just wanna see my source then, huh..."

Filia cleared her throat quietly and nodded. "That would be nice, yes."

Melodia stood up and headed to one of her piles of books and papers. "Sorry, it's... organized chaos. This is my research pile, so, it's in here somewhere!" She chuckled nervously.

Melodia then sifted through the pile frantically. "This current book I'm writing actually was inspired by some stuff I learned about mazoku politics- a lot of sorcerers know that Shabranigdo's subordinates each made a priest and a general during the Koma war- but did you know that Greater Beast actually only made _one?_ " Xellos and Filia exchanged a quick glance as Melodia snorted. "I have no clue why she would do that, but it makes for a great novel plot. Sorta like… a demon prince/only child sort of feel added to the usual forbidden romance."

FIlia cleared her throat loudly. " _Miss Melodia_ , I think you need to do more research on the Koma War. Xel- Greater Beast's priest, killed _thousands_ of golden dragons _singlehandedly_ during the war."

Melodia blinked, and quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper, mumbling to herself. "Lots of emotional yelling, maybe redemption arc..." She then set it aside, and smiled at the pile. "Oh! Here!" She carefully removed the book from the pile and set it on the table, opening the book to a bookmarked page containing an illustration of the room with the crystal orb.

"Yeah, apparently this orb was in the temple- it was used in marriage ceremonies for the Golden Children; They'd charge it with holy and black magic, the room would glow gold, and if they were powerful enough, they would apparently get thrown briefly into the same domain as the Lord of Nightmares where their souls would become bound or whatever." She then gave Xellos and Filia an excited smirk. "However, according to this, the _true_ purpose of the orb was for the union of god and monster that they had always hoped for."

Xellos and Filia's expressions soured.

"The theory was, if powerful enough holy and black energies were added to the orb, it would create _fusion magic_! And from that, it would create a new being, close to the Golden Lord herself!"

Xellos sat back in his chair, frowning in thought. "Close to… the Lord of Nightmares..." He glanced at Violet.

Filia smiled warily at Melodia. "So it creates a new being from... the magic? So it's… not like it matters who the casters are, right?"

Melodia frowned. "I dunno, monsters are like… beings without physical form, right? And their only for of reproduction is like magic, so-"

"THAT'S enough of that train of thought, I think!" Filia spurted.

Melodia jumped at the dragon's outburst. "Right! You guys are-" She paused. "Wait, I never actually asked… who are you?"

Filia sighed. "I am Filia Ul Copt. I sell antiques. And this is my daughter, Violet."

"And I am Xellos." He smirked. "My job isn't as pertinent."

Melodia blinked at Xellos. She then snorted. "Man, don't you have the same name as that Greater Beast guy?" She glanced over her notes. "Yeah! Priest Xellos! Yeesh what kind of parents names their kid after a demon priest?"

Xellos laughed passively at the comment, when Melodia paused, still staring at her notes. "Woah, wait though." She glanced back and forth between her notes and Xellos. "You… look a lot like all the descriptions of him I could come across. Human form at least-" Melodia looked at the three people in her home. "A golden dragon, some guy, and their kid walk into my home asking about a temple built for marriage between gods and monsters-"

Melodia jumped excitedly. "You came here because you _did_ go to the temple! And you had _her!_ " Melodia blinked. "Why do you need to know more about the temple?"

Filia's eyebrow twitched. "Because we didn't _mean_ to create her, and now we're way over our heads."

Xellos scoffed. "You're over _your_ head."

Filia laughed angrily. "Oh? Only me? Mister 'how do I get a baby to stop crying'?"

Xellos scowled. "I could have figured it out!"

Melodia smiled widely. "This is the non-human version of an unplanned pregnancy. I can't believe it." She grabbed a pile of paper and scribbled frantically. "This is _gold!_ "

Melodia sighed, satisfied, and set her quill aside. "Okay, that is everything about the predicted offspring of the union ritual." She handed Xellos a slim stack of papers.

Filia sighed. "And that's all they wrote?"

Melodia nodded. "It's all speculation too. You guys are in uncharted territory with her!" She smirked. "But if you're talking about _your_ relationship, on the other hand, a quick read will provide you with… a few suggestions."

Filia's cheeks burned red, and she stormed out the door. Xellos sighed. "You are a very strange girl, Miss Melodia. But thank you for your help, anyways."

Melodia smiled and waved to the two as they left. "No problem! Hey, send me letters about Violet, would you? Anything about her would be _great_ resources for following novels! ...I'll even go for a straight _romance_ novel! Please? ...Yeah, they're gone."


End file.
